Paper 1: Becoming Critical Mathematics Pedagogues: A Journey

This session will report the findings of a study that explored the beginning transformations in the pedagogical philosophies and practices of three mathematics teachers (middle, high school, and 2-year college) who completed a graduate-level mathematics education course that focused on critical theory and teaching for social justice, and how these transformations are compatible (or not) with reform mathematics education as suggested by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and in turn, the new Georgia Performance Standards (GPS). The study employed Freirian participatory research methodology; in fact, the participants were not only co- researchers, but also co-authors of the study. Data collection included reflective essays, journals, and “storytelling”; data analysis was a combination of textual analysis and autoethnography. The findings report that the teachers believed that the course provided not only a new language but also a legitimization to transform their pedagogical philosophies and practices away from the “traditional” and toward a mathematics for social justice—a mathematics that is, indeed, compatible with the reform movements of the NCTM and GPS

Becoming Critical Mathematics Pedagogues: A Journey

This session will report the findings of a study that explored the beginning transformations in the pedagogical philosophies and practices of three mathematics teachers (middle, high school, and 2-year college) who completed a graduate-level mathematics education course that focused on critical theory and teaching for social justice, and how these transformations are compatible (or not) with reform mathematics education as suggested by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and in turn, the new Georgia Performance Standards (GPS). The study employed Freirian participatory research methodology; in fact, the participants were not only coresearchers, but also co-authors of the study. Data collection included reflective essays, journals, and “storytelling”; data analysis was a combination of textual analysis and autoethnography. The findings report that the teachers believed that the course provided not only a new language but also a legitimization to transform their pedagogical philosophies and practices away from the “traditional” and toward a mathematics for social justice—a mathematics that is, indeed, compatible with the reform movements of the NCTM and GPS

Critical Mathematics Pedagogy: Transforming Teachers’ Practices

This study reports the effects of a graduate-level mathematics education course that focused on critical theory and teaching for social justice on the pedagogical philosophies and practices of three mathematics teachers (middle, high school, and 2-year college). The study employed Freirian participatory research methodology; in fact, the participants were not only co-researchers, but also co-authors of the study. Data collection included reflective essays, journals, and “storytelling”; data analysis was a combination of textual analysis and autoethnography. The findings report that the teachers believed that the course provided not only a new language but also a legitimization to transform their pedagogical philosophies and practices (and research agendas) away from the “traditional” and toward a mathematics for social justice

Critical Mathematics Pedagogy: Transforming Teachers’ Practices

This study reports the effects of a graduate-level mathematics education course that focused on critical theory and teaching for social justice on the pedagogical philosophies and practices of three mathematics teachers (middle, high school, and 2-year college). The study employed Freirian participatory research methodology; in fact, the participants were not only co-researchers, but also co-authors of the study. Data collection included reflective essays, journals, and “storytelling”; data analysis was a combination of textual analysis and autoethnography. The findings report that the teachers believed that the course provided not only a new language but also a legitimization to transform their pedagogical philosophies and practices (and research agendas) away from the “traditional” and toward a mathematics for social justice

Structured Decision-Making and Rapid Prototyping to Plan a Management Response to an Invasive Species

We developed components of a decision structure that could be used in an adaptive management framework for responding to invasion of hemlock woolly adelgid Adeleges tsugae on the Cumberland Plateau of northern Tennessee. Hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive forest pest, was first detected in this area in 2007. We used a structured decision-making process to identify and refine the management problem, objectives, and alternative management actions, and to assess consequences and tradeoffs among selected management alternatives. We identified four fundamental objectives: 1) conserve the aquatic and terrestrial riparian conservation targets, 2) protect and preserve hemlock, 3) develop and maintain adequate budget, and 4) address public concerns. We designed two prototype responses using an iterative process. By rapidly prototyping a first solution, insights were gained and shortcomings were identified, and some of these shortcomings were incorporated and corrected in the second prototype. We found that objectives were best met when management focused on early treatment of lightly to moderately infested but relatively healthy hemlock stands with biological control agent predator beetles and insect-killing fungi. Also, depending on the cost constraint, early treatment should be coupled with silvicultural management of moderately to severely infested and declining hemlock stands to accelerate conversion to nonhemlock mature forest cover. The two most valuable contributions of the structured decision-making process were 1) clarification and expansion of our objectives, and 2) application of tools to assess tradeoffs and predict consequences of alternative actions. Predicting consequences allowed us to evaluate the influence of uncertainty on the decision. For example, we found that the expected number of mature forest stands over 30 y would be increased by 4% by resolving the uncertainty regarding predator beetle effectiveness. The adaptive management framework requires further development including identifying and evaluating uncertainty, formalizing other competing predictive models, designing a monitoring program to update the predictive models, developing a process for re-evaluating the predictive models and incorporating new management technologies, and generating support for planning and implementation

Upregulation of complement proteins in lung cancer cells mediates tumor progression

IntroductionIn vivo, cancer cells respond to signals from the tumor microenvironment resulting in changes in expression of proteins that promote tumor progression and suppress anti-tumor immunity. This study employed an orthotopic immunocompetent model of lung cancer to define pathways that are altered in cancer cells recovered from tumors compared to cells grown in culture.MethodsStudies used four murine cell lines implanted into the lungs of syngeneic mice. Cancer cells were recovered using FACS, and transcriptional changes compared to cells grown in culture were determined by RNA-seq.ResultsChanges in interferon response, antigen presentation and cytokine signaling were observed in all tumors. In addition, we observed induction of the complement pathway. We previously demonstrated that activation of complement is critical for tumor progression in this model. Complement can play both a pro-tumorigenic role through production of anaphylatoxins, and an anti-tumorigenic role by promoting complement-mediated cell killing of cancer cells. While complement proteins are produced by the liver, expression of complement proteins by cancer cells has been described. Silencing cancer cell-specific C3 inhibited tumor growth In vivo. We hypothesized that induction of complement regulatory proteins was critical for blocking the anti-tumor effects of complement activation. Silencing complement regulatory proteins also inhibited tumor growth, with different regulatory proteins acting in a cell-specific manner.DiscussionBased on these data we propose that localized induction of complement in cancer cells is a common feature of lung tumors that promotes tumor progression, with induction of complement regulatory proteins protecting cells from complement mediated-cell killing

Structured Decision-Making and Rapid Prototyping to Plan a Management Response to an Invasive Species

We developed components of a decision structure that could be used in an adaptive management framework for responding to invasion of hemlock woolly adelgid Adeleges tsugae on the Cumberland Plateau of northern Tennessee. Hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive forest pest, was first detected in this area in 2007. We used a structured decision-making process to identify and refine the management problem, objectives, and alternative management actions, and to assess consequences and tradeoffs among selected management alternatives. We identified four fundamental objectives: 1) conserve the aquatic and terrestrial riparian conservation targets, 2) protect and preserve hemlock, 3) develop and maintain adequate budget, and 4) address public concerns. We designed two prototype responses using an iterative process. By rapidly prototyping a first solution, insights were gained and shortcomings were identified, and some of these shortcomings were incorporated and corrected in the second prototype. We found that objectives were best met when management focused on early treatment of lightly to moderately infested but relatively healthy hemlock stands with biological control agent predator beetles and insect-killing fungi. Also, depending on the cost constraint, early treatment should be coupled with silvicultural management of moderately to severely infested and declining hemlock stands to accelerate conversion to nonhemlock mature forest cover. The two most valuable contributions of the structured decision-making process were 1) clarification and expansion of our objectives, and 2) application of tools to assess tradeoffs and predict consequences of alternative actions. Predicting consequences allowed us to evaluate the influence of uncertainty on the decision. For example, we found that the expected number of mature forest stands over 30 y would be increased by 4% by resolving the uncertainty regarding predator beetle effectiveness. The adaptive management framework requires further development including identifying and evaluating uncertainty, formalizing other competing predictive models, designing a monitoring program to update the predictive models, developing a process for re-evaluating the predictive models and incorporating new management technologies, and generating support for planning and implementation